03/27/2015

Reputed Bonanno capo Jerome Asaro has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in a federal prison following his racketeering conviction which included during the early 1980s digging up mob associate Paul Katz who had been buried under the concrete basement of a Queens home since his 1969 hit, and then moving the remains to another still-unknown location as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News. Jerome's father Vincent is awaiting trial for his alleged roles in the Katz murder and the 1978 Lufthansa heist.

03/22/2015

Federal prosecutors have charged Vladimir Handl and Michael Rose from Myrtle Beach, SC for allegedly orchestrating a racketeering scheme pursuant to which, among other things, drug money was laundered through their strip joints and other nightlife establishments across the country according to a Justice Department press release:

According to the indictment, Handl and Rose, along with their associates, Peter Scalise, and David Gaither, conspired to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering involving money laundering, bank fraud, and drug trafficking. Between 2011 through the present, the defendants knowingly accepted more than $2.3 million that they believed either had been fraudulently diverted from a bankruptcy court proceeding or constituted proceeds from drug trafficking, and then laundered the money through their businesses, including Rose's Gold Clubs. The indictment further alleges that as part of their laundering scheme, the defendants created fraudulent invoices, contracts, and other business records to make it appear that the money they received and "cleaned" was for legitimate business transactions. The defendants also sought to acquire cocaine to sell.

Gaither is "a former Myrtle Beach Police officer whose employment was discontinued in 2009 during an investigation into an incident at The Boathouse in which an Horry County Police officer was allegedly intoxicated and 'shaking his penis in front of a crowd of people" as reported by WMBF.

03/21/2015

A federal jury in New York has convicted Mikhail Zemlyansky on racketeering and other charges for bilking $100 million from insurance companies through manufactured claims for medical care under no-fault automobile insurance, swindling $18 million from unsuspecting investors in shell companies which purported to finance lawsuits in return for a portion of future settlements, and then laundering "the fruits of his crimes through check-cashing entities and shell companies, and invested his criminal proceeds on luxury items" according to a Justice Department press release. Well wasn't he a busy beaver.

03/14/2015

A Brooklyn federal judge has decided that the jury for the upcoming racketeering trial against reputed TF Mafia leaders Michael Garrett and Paul Rivera will be anonymous and partially sequestered according to a ruling in the case. The government alleged "that both defendants, as well as their associates, 'have taken steps to intimidate and/or tamper with witnesses in this case,'" and District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto concluded "there is 'strong reason' to protect the jury in this case." Accordingly, the jurors' names, addresses and employers will not be disclosed, and "the court will direct the United States Marshals Service to escort empaneled jurors between the courthouse and a central undisclosed location each day and at all times during recesses."

The two defendants are charged with, among other things, drug trafficking, child prostitution and murder conspiracy. By the way, the acronym "TF" stands for "Together Forever." How sweet.

03/12/2015

Reputed Genovese capo Daniel Pagano pleaded guilty this morning to a racketeering conspiracy "which the feds said included extortion, loan sharking and gambling," and pursuant to the plea agreement faces between 27 and 33 months of prison time when sentenced in July as reported by Dareh Gregorian for the Daily News: "Pagano, whose father was late Genovese hit man Joseph Pagano, once tried to recruit Al Sharpton into a mob plot to deal illegal drugs in the 1980s, sources said."

03/10/2015

Patty Green is among those charged with racketeering for their alleged roles in the drug slinging Ghost Face Gangsters in metro Atlanta as reported by WSB-TV: "the indictment accuses Green, Zachary Young and others of conspiring to murder a witness in a murder case against Chad Allen, Green's son." In her defense Green says she's a granny, not a gangbanger.

03/02/2015

Last week the reputed Lucchese underboss lost his bid before an appeals court to overturn his life sentence on a racketeering conviction involving violent crimes, and now he's considering a further appeal to the United States Supreme Court as reported by Seth Augenstein for NJ.com. Apparently Taccetta thinks a life term is awfully harsh particularly since he was acquitted on the murder charge.

Good luck with that Marty; I bet you a quarter the Supremes won't take your case.

02/24/2015

A federal jury has convicted seven members from the Devil's Diciples motorcycle club in Detroit, MI as reported by Gus Burns for MLive. In addition to these seven defendants, "21 members and associates of the Devil's Diciples have been pleaded guilty to various crimes as result of this investigation," the U.S. Attorney's Office says. "The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 60 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition and the dismantling of eight methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories across the country."

Eight people have been charged for their alleged roles in the northeast Ohio slot racket as reported by WJW: "Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said those accused made tens of millions of dollars off the proceeds of the slot machines, which were installed in businesses, mostly bars, across Ohio."

02/10/2015

A federal jury last week convicted five defendants including two guards, a jail worker and two inmates from the Baltimore City Detention Center in Maryland for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy which smuggled contraband from the outside into the facility as reported by Rick Ritter for WJZ-TV:

Two years ago, an indictment exposed the corruption inside the Baltimore City jail, centered around sex and drugs. Corrections officers were smuggling in contraband, orders directly from members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang.

Three corrections officers were acquitted.

Prior to trial 20 other prison guards pleaded guilty.

Some of the prison guards actually were getting banged by the imprisoned gangbangers, and Tavon White, the BGF member who ran the smuggling racket from behind bars and later testified against his co-defendants, sired five bastard children with four guards as reported by Jason Silverstein for the Daily News.

Those guards who were sexin with the inmates may want to get checked out for warts; not sayin' anyone had a loathsome disease but you can't be too careful on these matters.